Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Photography major - What are the functions of lens filters?

What are the functions of lens filters?

Abstract: The lens filter is an accessory installed in front of the camera lens. Photographers use various lens filters to change the light or color entering the lens, and many of the effects are difficult to copy in post-production. Lens filters can be divided into circular, square and rectangular shapes. Different lens filters have different functions when taking pictures. For example, the UV filter is mainly used to protect the lens. Next, this article will briefly introduce several types of lens filters and their functions. Come and have a look with me! First, there are several types of lens filters.

There are many types of lens filters, and there are many ways to divide them. Here, they are mainly divided by the shape of lens filters:

1. Circular filters

Filters that can be screwed directly in front of the lens, such as UV mirrors, polarizers, ND filters, etc. Moreover, the thickness of the circular filter also has a corresponding impact on the picture. The thicker the filter will increase the vignetting, and the thinner the filter will reduce the vignetting.

2. The square filter

is usually used together with the lens filter bracket. The lens filter bracket is fixed at the front of the lens, and the square filter can be used by inserting it into the lens filter bracket. The advantage is that it can be applied to various types of lenses, and this type of filter is widely used in landscape photography.

3. Rectangular filters

The use method is the same as that of square filters. Unlike square filters, they have more room to move up and down.

Second, what are the functions of lens filters

Different lens filters have different effects. Here, take four common filters as examples:

1. UV filters

are mainly used to protect the lens and are suitable for any scene.

2. CPL filter

mainly reduces glare and improves saturation, which is suitable for sky, water and plants in landscape photography.

3. ND filter

is mainly used to prolong the exposure time, which is suitable for water flow, waterfalls and other places under bright light.

4. GND filter

controls the gradient of strong light to reduce vignetting, which is suitable for photographing large scenes with strong contrast, such as after sunrise and before sunset.